Praveen Kumar won gold at the Paris Paralympics 2024© X (Twitter)
Tokyo silver medalist Praveen Kumar broke the Asian record to claim the gold medal in the men's high jump T64 event at the Paris Paralympics 2024 on Friday. It was a stunning effort from the 21-year-old para-athlete as he produced a season best jump of 2.08m in the final to finish ahead of USA's Derek Loccident (2.06m) and Uzbekistan's Temurbek Giyazov (2.03m). This was India's sixth gold medal at the Paris Paralympics - the highest ever in a single edition of the competition. Earlier, India's best tally came in the Tokyo Paralympics where the contingent ended up winning five gold medals.
Opting to start from 1.89m, Kumar aced seven jumps in his first attempt to put himself in pole position to grab the coveted gold medal.
The bar was then raised to 2.10m, with both Kumar and Loccident fighting for the top spot on the podium but failed to clear the mark.
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This was also the 2023 world championship bronze medallist's personal best performance.
T64 is for athletes with movement moderately affected in one lower leg or the absence of one or both legs below the knee. While T44, under which Praveen is categorised, is for athletes with movement affected at a low or moderate degree in one lower leg.
His impairment, which is congenital, affects the bones that connect his hip to his left leg.
Kumar's odyssey toward becoming a para-athlete was marked by considerable trials. He often grappled with profound feelings of inadequacy in comparison to his peers as a child.
He started playing sports to counter these insecurities and found a passion for volleyball.
His life changed when he took part in a high jump event at an able-bodied athletics competition.
This experience exposed him to the vast opportunities available for athletes with disabilities, igniting a new and inspiring trajectory in his journey.
He is the third high jumper after Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thagavelu to secure a medal in Paris.
(With PTI inputs)